Monday, June 25, 2012

Researchers who found Estrogenic Activity in Nearly All Plastics Being Sued for False Claims

A little over a year ago, I commented on the lousy experimental conditions and conclusions in a report that claimed that nearly all plastics had estrogenic activity (EA) associated with them, just as bisphenol-A (BPA) does. While the authors of the report (employees of the companies PlasticPure and CertiChem) had some back-and-forth with me across the internet about these issues, the matter has now become much more serious for them as Eastman Chemical has filed suit against the company for claiming that Eastman's Tritan plastics show estrogenic activity by relying on a screening test (called the MCF-7 test), "which is known in the scientific community to be a non-definitive, non-final test for making determinations of EA and from results of other unreliable testing protocols".

I was much more specific in my criticism of their research (inappropriate UV light conditions - something I will always call out - as well as other inappropriate testing conditions such as using an autoclave to simulate a dishwasher - why not just use a dishwasher and avoid all the problems with a simulation?) and suggested that their test procedures possibly ended up creating the EA materials that would otherwise not be there.

I will be curious as to how the lawsuit proceeds. Any guesses on which side my Schadenfreude money is?